Kert Karus on Thursday announced that he is leaving his position as secretary general of junior coalition member Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL).

"I have decided not to continue in the position of secretary general of IRL, although the new chairman of the party made a proposal to me to this effect," Karus said in a letter to party mates, referring to party chairman Helir-Valdor Seeder. "I find that my time in this job is conclusively over and the main challenges were met successfully,."

Karus recalled that he assumed the duties of secretary general after the 2015 Riigikogu elections and that difficult decisions had to be made back then in order to pay campaign bills and keep the organization viable at the same time.

"I am sincerely happy to be able to hand the party over in a shape where we are in a position to do a considerable amount of campaigning ahead of the local elections," he said, referrring to the local elections to be held on Oct. 15.

An extraordinary congress of IRL, the smallest member of Estonia's ruling coalition, on May 13 elected former Minister of Agriculture Helir-Valdor Seeder its party chairman. Then-incumbent Margus Tsahkna did not seek any position in the party's governing bodies.